Ministry of Steel
Union Steel Minister gives away Steel Awards 2018
Start giving awards to end-consumers of steel products from the next year onwards: Steel Minister to SUFI
Critical for the Indian steel sector and the Indian industry to place a heightened focus on research and innovation: Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh
“Indian steel industry must aim to be number-one in quality”
The Union Steel Minister Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh gave away Steel Awards 2018 instituted by Steel Users Federation of India  in Mumbai today December 9, 2018. Chairman, Tata Group, Shri Ratan Naval Tata was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award in absentia. The list of awardees is given below.
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Sl. No
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Recipient
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Award
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1
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Shri Ratan Naval Tata, Chairman, Tata Group
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Lifetime Achievement Award
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2
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Shri Vipul Mathur, CEO, Welspun Corp. Ltd.
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Hall of Fame Steel CEO of the Year
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3
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Tata Steels Ltd.
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Steel Mills Steel Company of the Year
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4
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Maharashtra Seamless Ltd.
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Steel Users Steel Company of the Year
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6
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POSCO Maharashtra Steel Pvt. Ltd.
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Steel Mills Engineering Steel Company of the Year
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8
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Naresh Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd.
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Steel Traders Engineering Steel Company of the Year
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9
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JSW Steels Ltd.
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Special Category SUFI “Make in India” Award
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10
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M. Junction
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Special Category SUFI “Digital India” Award
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11
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Metal Street
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Special Category SUFI “Startup India” Award
The Minister presented the awards and exhorted everyone present to work together and build on this momentum.
Addressing the gathering, the Steel Minister suggested SUFI to start giving awards to end-consumers of steel products from the next year onwards. Noting that the Government has set a target of 300 million production capacity by the year 2030, Shri Singh said that production is slated to increase in India, while it is being cut down in many other countries. He said the need now is to promote consumption of steel products, by involving end-users of steel products.
Stating that SUFI can play an important role in addressing this challenge, Shri Singh said that there is need for innovation in consumption and in reaching out to users in innovative ways. The Minister observed that the world per capita steel consumption is 208 kg, while the corresponding figure for rural India is 10 kg. He asked SUFI to take charge of this and to see that SUFI works in a focused manner for increasing steel consumption. The Minister underlined the need for re-imagination in marketing, in order to increase consumption.
Noting that 10 lakh crore rupees to be invested by 2030 for increasing the domestic production capacity, the Minister spoke of the need to start indigenous production of machinery that would be required to ramp up steel production in India.
The Minister said that it is critical for the Indian steel sector and the Indian industry to place a heightened focus on research and innovation. He added that merely updating technology is not innovation. Asserting that India cannot afford a slow-paced progress, Shri Singh said that India needs a speedy progress and that too with transformation. The growth of a nation is reflected in the level of steel production and consumption. However, if the production and consumption is one’s own, that will usher in a greater degree of confidence, said the Minister.
Shri Singh said that as users of steel, the industry can help spread the message that steel is the material for the future, by sharing their experience at the right platforms. The Minister said that the industry needs to be convinced about the advantages of using steel for specific needs. He said that organizations like SUFI should convince other stakeholders and decision-makers about the advantages of using steel.
On the occasion, the Minister participated in an in-conversation session with the President, SUFI, Mr. Nikunj Turakhia. The Minister said that the National Steel Policy 2017 was designed keeping in mind the need to give level playing field for the primary and secondary steel sectors. He said that there has been an attempt to give preference to domestically produced steel, provided it is of good quality. He said that this has resulted in a saving of around 6,000 crore rupees in the last year or so. He added that in order to improve quality, steel products have been added to BIS.
The Minister exuded confidence that the Indian steel industry will continue to lead the growth trend in global steel scenario. He asserted that the future belongs to steel and that India is the rightful claimant for the top-notch position on world steel map. He said that Indian steel industry must aim to be number-one in quality.
Earlier, addressing the media on the sidelines of the event, the Minister informed that the production target for steel is 250 million tons and that the capacity is targeted to be increased by 300 million tons by the year 2030. He said that during the last four years, the per capita steel consumption in the country has gone up from 56 kg to 68 kg. The Minister expressed his satisfaction with this trend.
Speaking on BIS in steel industry, the Minister said that steel products have been brought under BIS in order to provide a level playing field. He added that this is in the interest of secondary steel.
Replying to a query, Shri Singh informed that in the first 9 months of the year 2018, crude steel production in India has increased by 5.5% and nearly 84 million tonnes of steel have been produced. He said that National Steel Policy 2017 welcomes transfer of technology and FDI. He added that the Government has set up the apex R&D umbrella organization, Steel Research & Technology Mission of India , which ensures that all players in the steel sector are able to reap the advantages of research and innovation efforts made in the sector. This is in contrast to isolated efforts being done earlier, the impact of which was limited, said the Minister.
The Minister informed that for the first time, an Award Scheme for secondary steel sector was instituted by the Government this year, to recognize the contribution of the sector for their contribution to the national economy. He added that the response has been very good. He said that an integrated effort is required from the secondary steel sector as well, in order to move ahead. He added that this approach has been reaping good dividends.
Speaking on steel PSUs, the Minister cited the example of SAIL and said that there has been a total turnaround in the steel sector.
Cabinet Minister, Government of Maharashtra, Shri Raj K. Purohit and Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Shri Gopal Shetty were present on the occasion.